Drunk driver must wear sign about his crime

A driver who served time in jail for killing a man in a drunk-driving accident in Harris County will now have to advertise his crime by wearing a sign in public.

Harris County Court-at-Law Judge Michael R. Fields has ordered Michael Giacona, 39, to wear the sign, which states “I killed Aaron Coy Pennywell while driving drunk,” during four consecutive Saturdays as part of his two-year probated sentence.

The judge also ordered Giacona to wear an alcohol monitoring device on his ankle, and to prominently display a framed photograph of the victim’s destroyed car in his living room.

“Mr. Giacona, I have considered what the witnesses had to say,” Fields said, according to an April 3 court transcript of the sentencing. “I have looked at the state’s exhibits and, and quite frankly, I am concerned about you and this decision to place you on shock probation.

“You make me nervous, and the reason you make me nervous is I believe what the witnesses said about your behavior that evening: That you were, even after killing someone, still looking to get more alcohol,” Fields stated in the transcript. “This is not your first DWI.”

Giacona’s van crashed into Pennywell’s Mustang at the intersection of Huffmeister and Spring Cypress on June 25, 2011. Pennywell was thrown from his car and died at the accident.

Giacona was ordered to wear the sign from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the accident scene, starting this Saturday.